Noon became dusk. The water on the west bank of the lake became orange reflecting the color of the sunset sky. The opposite bank became navy blue slowly embracing night. After their passionate encounter, Gianni and Julien continue on their way to find the orchard that the latter once visited during his childhood days. The terrain became more friendly to the foot with trails and wild grasses that were only ankles-long.
"It's getting dark, should we push on?" Gianni says. "We may not be able to find our way back."
"It would be futile to turn back now," Julien turns to him. "We made this far. Night will still catch us even if we turn now. We'll be fine, trust me."
They continue on their trip. After jumping from a short ledge, they came upon a plain with trees planted uniformly even. However, as they were about to inspect the trees for fruit, rain fell down upon them once more.
"Quick, let's find shade," Julien grabs Gianni's hand and leads him under a tree. But that proved futile as the trees didn't provide any protection to the gatling of the raindrops. "We should find shelter."
Julien presses on attempting to find a tree with large branches where the both of them could rest under. They make it to the center of the field, running further away from the bank of the lake. Gianni sees a glimpse of red rectangular images from a distance.
"Over there," he points to the direction of the red objects, "that could be fire inside a house."
"Let's go," Julien leads him there. Suddenly, Gianni trips again on a root that protruded from the ground. "Are you all right? I'll carry you."
"Forgive me," he says as the prince carries him on his back. "My knees are still trembling from this afternoon."
"My bad."
The two make it to a small hut that seemed to be dilapidated under the cover of darkness. The red objects that Gianni saw became clear that it was indeed fire from inside a hut. The door was a mere push as there was no handle. The door opened and inside, away from the rain, they immediately saw three sets of meals served on a round table that sat on one side of the room.
"I expected you would come here," a guy seemingly just around the prince's age was preparing the table for them. "I saw you two love making this afternoon, and I figured that you might be looking for the peach orchard judging from the path that you are taking."
Without another word being said, the two deeply blushed. Their faces were as red as the fire burning from the candle lamps that hang from the walls. The hut was small but seemed spacious. The floor was of wooden birch and looked well maintained. The walls were of the same material as the floor and had small holes. Termite houses ran through the holes along the wall. Four chairs were positioned before the round table that sat at the side directly facing the door. A large chair covered with sheep wool stood on the side where the windows were. Opposite it was the kitchen, complete with the basic utensils.
"Come take a seat," the guy offers them a seat. "I've prepared meals for the three of us. I'll grab a towel and spare clothes for you to use."
The guy leaves.
"He is hospitable," Julien remarks attempting to bury the fact that their host just saw what they were doing.
"He saw us," Gianni could not keep his embarrassment inside for any longer. He wanted to lie in a warm bad covered in multiple blankets to hide himself from the world. "He saw the two of us doing that in the woods."
"It's no big deal," the guy returns and hands them a serviette and spare chemise. "People do that all the time in the orchard. I even have a knight or two from the fort west of here come to be 'hosted'."
"You mean?" the thought instantly shot Julien's mind and he was taken aback. "Oh, I see."
"Don't be shy," the guy remarks. "Oh forgive for not introducing myself. I'm Ephraim and I live here in this hut."
"Do you have an extra room where we can change?" Gianni says after drying himself.
"I do apologize, I'm afraid there's nowhere else that you can change except here," Ephraim replies. "You can cover yourself using the towel, oh and I will cover my eyes."
It was not that Gianni was afraid to be seen. He was afraid that the prince will see him and judge his naked body. While Ephraim turned around and covered his eyes and while Gianni was having second thoughts, Julien just went and took of all his clothes and changed. Gianni saw once more his perfectly-chiseled body similar to that of Adonis in the stories and his manhood that hung between his legs. Julien realized how Gianni was looking at him.
"My eyes are up here," Julien finishes changing. "Do you need me to help you change?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Gianni strips down and puts on the spare clothes that Ephraim gave them. "This smells like peach."
"We are in the peach orchard, after all," Ephraim replies finally opening his eyes after realizing that the two have sat down in front of him. "The orchard loved and commissioned by the former Queen Helenesse."
At that moment, Gianni and Julien realized where they were. After an entire day of searching, they finally found what they were looking for.
"Have you lived here all your life, Ephraim?" Julien asks. "I used to live with my mother. She was the former queen's gardener. She had her plant all these peaches for the little princes in the kingdom. I remember them playing under the branches of the peaches while I helped my mother tend to the trees. I loved tending to the peaches."
Ephraim began eating the stew that he had made from the herbs and fish he caught. Seeing that the two are not eating, he took a spoon and retrieved a spoonful from Gianni's and Julien's plate to prove that they were not poisoned.
"Are you two lovers looking for peach?" Ephraim tries to open a conversation. "You two were so passionate this afternoon."
"Please don't talk about that," Gianni shuts him down. "That is a topic that should be known only for the two of us. You have no say in it."
"You're right, my apologies," Ephraim bows down his head. "You haven't told me your names."
"I'm Julien and he's Gianni. We would like some of the peaches," Julien says as he takes a sip of the stew. "We were hoping to gather a bunch of them for the second prince's birthday that is coming up."
"Oh right, that is on the 31st, is it not? Very well, I shall aid you in gathering tomorrow."
As the night went on, Julien and Gianni began trusting Ephraim and for the person he is. With no bed, Julien and Gianni slept on the floor. The rain poured heavily that night, undeterred by any force. The lack of blankets and the light gale that went under the door made Gianni cold. He shivered as lay beside Julien.
"You feel cold," Julien says as he grabs Gianni closer to him. "Here," he puts his arms around him.
"Thank you."
"You can have this too," Julien extends his hand for Gianni to put his head on. "We don't have pillows so you can use my arm."
"Thank you," Gianni smiles and squeezes Julien's bicep. He puts his head on the latter's forearm.
Gianni calmed down and slept soundly. He felt warm and safe.
The next day, as soon as the sun was up, the three went to gather peaches. They only chose the best quality in the orchard. The orchard was as large as the lake house, if not larger. Each peach tree bore bunches of fruit. Julien hands a ripe peach to Gianni bidding him to eat. As they continued to gather more, the thought finally occurred to them that they forgot to bring a basket or any container to put the peaches in.
"The basket was in the kitchen," Gianni says as he lays the peaches that they collected on the ground. "My apologies, I have overlooked this matter."
"Don't fret, we can use this," Julien takes off his shirt and ties the three seams of the chemise. He begins putting all the peaches that they gathered inside. "Here, take it."
The prince's body was sweaty after they collected the fruit. His skin reflected the morning sunshine as if his sweat was oil, accentuating every muscle in his torso.
"This should be enough," Julien says as he places the last peach that made their improvised basket full. "We should head back. Ephraim, do you know of a quick way back to the lake house?"
"You can use the boats on the docks. There is actually another dock just beside the lake house. It puzzled me why you did not use it the first time around."